Sat., Dec. 10, 2016
3:00 PM ESTArmy vs. Navy FootballDon't miss one of the greatest events you can ever attend! The Army-Navy Game presented by USAA returns to M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday, December 10, 2016

Sat., Dec. 10, 2016
7:00 PM
- 7:30 PM ESTRavens ReportHosted by WUSA-TV's Kristen Berset, Ravens Report, the flagship program of the Baltimore Ravens that showcases life in the NFL. Created by Ravens Productions, this magazine-style show features behind-the-scenes access to Ravens players and coaches as they prepare for each week's opponent.

Sat., Dec. 10, 2016
7:30 PM
- 8:00 PM ESTRavens ReportSee the plays, hear the sideline conversations and feel the hits on Ravens Wired, the only behind-the-scenes show featuring a Ravens player wired for sound during each week's game. Go behind the Ravens bench for in-game adjustments and inside the locker room for Head Coach John Harbaugh's post-game speech. Produced by Ravens Productions, Ravens Wired is hosted by WBAL-TV's Keith Mills.

Mon., Dec. 12, 2016
8:30 PM ESTPurple Club Happy HourWhat's better than Happy Hour specials and Baltimore Ravens football? A Purple Club Happy Hour! Join the Purple club this season at various Buffalo Wild Wings locations to watch the Ravens on the road.

Mon., Dec. 12, 2016
11:45 PM ESTLivePost Game PresserJohn Harbaugh and key players will address the media following the game.

Sat., Dec. 17, 2016
7:00 PM
- 7:30 PM ESTRavens ReportHosted by WUSA-TV's Kristen Berset, Ravens Report, the flagship program of the Baltimore Ravens that showcases life in the NFL. Created by Ravens Productions, this magazine-style show features behind-the-scenes access to Ravens players and coaches as they prepare for each week's opponent.

Sat., Dec. 17, 2016
7:30 PM
- 8:00 PM ESTRavens ReportSee the plays, hear the sideline conversations and feel the hits on Ravens Wired, the only behind-the-scenes show featuring a Ravens player wired for sound during each week's game. Go behind the Ravens bench for in-game adjustments and inside the locker room for Head Coach John Harbaugh's post-game speech. Produced by Ravens Productions, Ravens Wired is hosted by WBAL-TV's Keith Mills.

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The biggest turning point in the season had to have been the firing of Cam Cameron. Since the Denver game where Flacco threw the pick 6, Flacco and the offense were simply a different team. They played with a purpose and played to win, rather than not to lose which seemed to plague this team so much in the past.

3

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I agree with jbr719, and without that pick six we were going to win also that game.

As for steelcityraven, also in this case I agree, but please let's all remember Boldin's block towards the end of the Diddle Diddle conversion: that's the kind of attitude, the kind of play, and the kind of execution that made the superbowl run possible.

4

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[quote name='sami' timestamp='1360781992' post='1356757']
sorry Mystigo_Dragon, i dont put much credence in things people who knew a guy that knew a guy say. Thats called a rumor and rumors are mostly noise.
[/quote]

LOL

Actually, it came from Harbs himself and a couple more guys on offense! The Dee was not feeling full pad practices but the Oh questioned what they were supposed to be doing,... more run or more pass!

Yet, seriously, but for Ray's 29 yard "Diddle-diddle" we were destined for Wild card Hades, and the Dragonfly's "Mile-high Miracle",... well, ya know the rest

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I feel like the comment that Harbaugh "humbled himself" indicates Harbaugh understood that he needed to move a little more control from the coaching staff to the team. Belichick's style is "my way, or the highway". John Harbaugh works to allow the players a say in matters, but without letting the inmates run the asylum. Having a roster of strong veterans makes that approach work.

I think the nature of Cam's dismissal was more about control than Xs and Os or what play was being called and when. I think the McKinnie move was also about control. The staff had made its point to Bryant and now it was just time to make the move that gets the best players on the field, no matter what.

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Actually, it came from Harbs himself and a couple more guys on offense! The Dee was not feeling full pad practices but the Oh questioned what they were supposed to be doing,... more run or more pass!

Yet, seriously, but for Ray's 29 yard "Diddle-diddle" we were destined for Wild card Hades, and the Dragonfly's "Mile-high Miracle",... well, ya know the restWell if it came form Harbs and some guys on Offense then it wasnt just some guy that knew another guy. Sure wish I could hob-nob around the players and coaches like you do.
[/quote]

-1

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Week 1... look like an instant SB contender.
Week 2... a repeat of 2011. Big emotional win, poor road performance to an inferior team
Week 6... hang on to beat Dallas, lose two key defensive players, people begin to see that something's not right with this defense
Week 7... a gigantic slice of humble pie
Week 9-10... come out of the bye, pound inferior teams, offense starts looking better.
Week 11... big win in Pittsburgh in a game we know we should have won
Week 12... miracle saves us from another road loss to an inferior team after an emotional win
Week 13... the beginning of about a 3 week stretch of bad football. Losing at home to your arch rivals without their best QB. One of the most disappointing moments I can remember as a fan.
Week 15... an even bigger slice of humble pie, and doubt begins to set in.
Week 16... the entire fanbase, at the same time, asks the same question "where has this level of play been all season/"

And then theres the playoffs...

18

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My Favorite Moment was the 4th and 29 play, not only was it incredible but it is a memorable moment I saw LIVE with my Son that we will talk about forever. It gets no better than that for me personally... BTW is Weddle awake yet?

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The author forgot to mention the re-alignment of the offensive line. It was huge! Moving Oher back to RT and bringing McKinnie off the bench to play LT. The offense was a completely different offense after that change was made.

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The firing of Cam Cameron reminded me a lot of the 2000 season with Tony Banks. Back then, it was clear the Ravens had a lot of talent and could compete with anyone, but one guy was holding the team back. Billick finally took Banks out, and Dilfer's first start was a disaster. He looked like he had never played qb before. I remember Quadry Ismail getting behind the defense and being wide open, and Dilfer skipped a pass off the grass. The Ravens lost that game. The next game, the Ravens destroyed the Bengals, and they didn't lose another game that season.

Cam was this year's Tony Banks. The first game after he was fired, the offense played like complete garbage, then they blew out the next team, and didn't lose another game with the starters in.

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1. I've been on the replace Cameron bandwagon for about 3 years now, and nobody was more ecstatic to see it happen.

2. That being said... I don't really know exactly how to gauge what impact Caldwell had on this offense. I'd like to give him credit, but I just don't know. There's no doubt in my mind that the solidifying of the offensive line (mostly by bringing in McKinnie and sliding Osemele inside to guard) had a much larger impact on the offense than Caldwell did.

If I were to say the one thing that stood out about our offense starting from the Giants on, it was not only that the offensive line was playing better, but Flacco also trusted that they simply would. By mid-season, Flacco started getting jittery and had happy feet in the pocket after 2-3 seconds. He didn't do that barely ever in the playoffs. He simply stood in there and delivered the ball. Oftentimes, there actually was pressure, but he just simply didn't care. The trust level was as high as I've seen it from him since he entered the league.

From a playcalling perspective, it's difficult to tell what really changed. Obviously the no huddle was more prevalent, and I think Caldwell let Flacco sort of call the plays he wanted and take responsibility for the decisions, but the actual play calling itself I don't know was that much different. It's not like we starting running a bunch of screens, exotic runs, etc. Sure, we attacked down field more, but I'm convinced it had more to do with pass protection and Flacco's confidence to throw the deep ball more than it did just calling the play.

I'm still happy we got rid of Cam, but I just don't know how to quantify exactly what that did for the offense.

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[quote name='rmcjacket23' timestamp='1360810790' post='1357295']
The firing of Cam Cameron is very interesting to me in a few ways...

1. I've been on the replace Cameron bandwagon for about 3 years now, and nobody was more ecstatic to see it happen.

2. That being said... I don't really know exactly how to gauge what impact Caldwell had on this offense. I'd like to give him credit, but I just don't know. There's no doubt in my mind that the solidifying of the offensive line (mostly by bringing in McKinnie and sliding Osemele inside to guard) had a much larger impact on the offense than Caldwell did.

If I were to say the one thing that stood out about our offense starting from the Giants on, it was not only that the offensive line was playing better, but Flacco also trusted that they simply would. By mid-season, Flacco started getting jittery and had happy feet in the pocket after 2-3 seconds. He didn't do that barely ever in the playoffs. He simply stood in there and delivered the ball. Oftentimes, there actually was pressure, but he just simply didn't care. The trust level was as high as I've seen it from him since he entered the league.

From a playcalling perspective, it's difficult to tell what really changed. Obviously the no huddle was more prevalent, and I think Caldwell let Flacco sort of call the plays he wanted and take responsibility for the decisions, but the actual play calling itself I don't know was that much different. It's not like we starting running a bunch of screens, exotic runs, etc. Sure, we attacked down field more, but I'm convinced it had more to do with pass protection and Flacco's confidence to throw the deep ball more than it did just calling the play.

I'm still happy we got rid of Cam, but I just don't know how to quantify exactly what that did for the offense.
[/quote]

Something I've heard from players about Caldwell is he is able to relay plays to the field quicker which allows them to play more tempo offense and they've said he sticks to the game plan. The only reason we'd hear those points from players is if the same players had those problems with Cam around.

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[quote name='rmcjacket23' timestamp='1360810790' post='1357295']
The firing of Cam Cameron is very interesting to me in a few ways...

1. I've been on the replace Cameron bandwagon for about 3 years now, and nobody was more ecstatic to see it happen.

2. That being said... I don't really know exactly how to gauge what impact Caldwell had on this offense. I'd like to give him credit, but I just don't know. There's no doubt in my mind that the solidifying of the offensive line (mostly by bringing in McKinnie and sliding Osemele inside to guard) had a much larger impact on the offense than Caldwell did.

If I were to say the one thing that stood out about our offense starting from the Giants on, it was not only that the offensive line was playing better, but Flacco also trusted that they simply would. By mid-season, Flacco started getting jittery and had happy feet in the pocket after 2-3 seconds. He didn't do that barely ever in the playoffs. He simply stood in there and delivered the ball. Oftentimes, there actually was pressure, but he just simply didn't care. The trust level was as high as I've seen it from him since he entered the league.

From a playcalling perspective, it's difficult to tell what really changed. Obviously the no huddle was more prevalent, and I think Caldwell let Flacco sort of call the plays he wanted and take responsibility for the decisions, but the actual play calling itself I don't know was that much different. It's not like we starting running a bunch of screens, exotic runs, etc. Sure, we attacked down field more, but I'm convinced it had more to do with pass protection and Flacco's confidence to throw the deep ball more than it did just calling the play.

I'm still happy we got rid of Cam, but I just don't know how to quantify exactly what that did for the offense.
[/quote]

Besides the faster tempo, there were a few differences I noticed. With Cam, the receivers ran mostly deep routes and out routes. With Caldwell, there were more quick passes. There were more quick slants by the receivers, and they used Vonte Leach in the passing game more for quick, easy completions that got drives started off on the right foot. They also used the middle of the field more with Caldwell, and often did all that on first down, so later downs were manageable, and they didn't put Flacco in as many third and longs. Because of all that, Flacco was much more efficient when he did throw deep downfield, because defenses couldn't just sit on it. It's not just the plays that are called, but the timing, and Caldwell has a much better sense of the flow of the game than Cam. I also noticed more crossing routes, and a few overloads to one side by the receivers. With Cam, they would do the same basic formations and routes, and the receivers couldn't get open, and Flacco would hold the ball too long. The pocket also moved much more with Caldwell; we saw more designed plays where Flacco would roll out instead of just dropping back. Flacco seemed to have more freedom overall with Caldwell. Also, there was much more chemistry between the pass and run game with Caldwell. Cam would often run on every first down or abandon the running game all together. He was predictable and didn't make the necessary adjustments. Caldwell wasn't as predictable, and he mixed things up based on the flow of the game, instead of sticking to a predictable game plan long after the defense had figured it out.

3

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@RavensBaltimore To be completely fair to Tony Banks, he had his best NFL season as a Raven in 1999, and helped Billick and our team reach it's first .500 season. And he also started off the 2000 season with an amazing win over the Jaguars. It wasn't JUST Banks who faultered in the middle there, it was the whole offense. Maybe he got in a funk. Who knows? It's not that Dilfer was great, but as he himself said, he gave up on trying to play great (as he actually did at times in Tampa), and learned to just play his role, manage the game, make the plays he had to. He did still throw his share of picks, and his regular season stats weren't terribly impressive. But he did what he needed to do. Could Banks have turned it around, and we still gone all the way, riding that defense and our Jamal Lewis/Priest Holmes running game? Maybe. But Dilfer was the guy who got the call, and he did well.

I guess my point is, Banks had his part in that SB season too. He helped us get some early key wins. He just fell into a slump for some reason. I guess by the same token, even though I don't want to give it, Cam deserves some credit too. Not a LOT. But some. Ultimately though, our offense would have been a lot better, even as far back as 2009 when we still had Clayton and Williams on the roster (both guys who I always felt could have flourished a lot better in a better offensive system). I guess Cam's playbook wasn't horrible.....but he feel for the game sometimes and playcalling could be disastrous, and very stubborn.

0

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I think everyone on this page comments were all correct, they all had something to do with us doing what we did plus us fans had a lot do do with it too we were in every stadium on the road we were seen we were heard and we WON . Thanks fans now for the Os to make this a championship town again.